From manufacturer, to supplier, to customer, the success and longevity of each party is tightly connected to each other. So, manufacturers must provide the best experiences to each of their stakeholders. See how three manufacturers were able to do this through self-service portals.

1. Simplifying Employee Tasks with Self-Service 

Employees are at the heart of the business, if they aren’t able to do their jobs well, then the whole ecosystem crumbles. Klabin, the biggest producer and exporter of packaging paper in Brazil, understood the importance of employee experience and decided to revamp their intranet tool.

Even though they had a digital solution, most requests and services were still manual. So, Klabin upgraded their digital workplace to provide employees with: 

• Access to personalized content
• Responsive user interface
• 70 new services and integrations

Klabin has seen an increase in employee engagement, with over 90% of employees accessing and viewing content, since the user experience became more personalized, simplified, and inclusive.

 

2. Empowering Suppliers with Self-Service

Having a network of dealers and suppliers presents manufacturers with a unique challenge; while these partners can be a great resource, they have their own set of communication and system needs separate from customers or employees. 

But an investment in bettering supplier experiences is an investment in better customer experiences. 

This is what MacDon, a world leader in agricultural and harvesting equipment, was able to do with an upgraded supplier portal. 

Their existing dealer portal was not user friendly and was burdensome to update. So, MacDon decided to overhaul their existing tool and move to a self-service portal that allows dealers to: 

• Monitor the status of their purchases and retrieve invoice information
• Check inventory and sales history
• Submit warranty claims, all without contacting a sales representative

After this change, MacDon has seen a 20% increase in overall sales and double the number of site visitors.

 

3. Streamlining Customer Purchasing with Self-Service 

At the top of the food chain are your customers. Ultimately all parties within the ecosystem are working hard to make sure the customer is satisfied. 

In order to improve customer experiences and shorten the buying process, innovators in digital transformation have chosen to empower customers to find their own solutions. 

Mueller, a leading manufacturer and retailer of steel building, metal roofing, and materials in the United States, understood that their purchasing processes were not as simple as Amazon’s and realized major changes would be needed if they wanted to retain and grow their customer base. 

So, Mueller added more self-service capabilities to their site to help streamline and simplify purchasing. By allowing customers to explore product offerings and generate quotes on their own, Mueller has seen: 

• 73% increase in quotes per month
• 250% jump in website traffic
• More than 54,000+ registered users

Corporate Technology Manager Hab Adkins says, “We regularly hear from customers who share positive feedback about the site and how it helped them refine their ideas into an eventual purchase.”

It's the Circle of the Manufacturing Ecosystem 

From employee to supplier to customer, the success of the ecosystem depends on manufacturers being able to deliver excellent experiences to all parties. When each is satisfied and enabled to perform their tasks effectively, the other will benefit in a continuous flow of the circle of life. 

Learn how Liferay can help you build solutions for every party in your ecosystem here.